November 1999 Magazine Contents

Apogee have a long association with state-of-the-art digital converters. Hugh Robjohns investigates two of their latest 'affordable' models, the fully equipped PSX100 A-D and D-A converter and its simpler derivative, the Rosetta A-D.

Nice 4-band equalisers are not uncommon, but this one includes dynamic filtering and equalisation in a bid to lift it above the competition. Hugh Robjohns finds out what 'expounding' can do for your mixes.

Swedish company Elektron have taken the retro philosophy to new heights, with a synth based around the original SID sound chip from the Commodore 64 home computer. Simon Trask finds out if this is inspiration or insanity...

Billed as the most afordable Emulator yet, the E5000 Ultra is Emu's new contender in the middleweight professional sampler stakes — and it's a force to be reckoned with.

Focusrite's latest product is an updated version of one of their '80s classics. Is it even better the second time around?

Paul White discovers a sensibly priced CD recorder capable of handling any type of recording sessions without throwing a tantrum.

There aren't many British mic companies, but one — Hebden Sound — offer a complete range of hand-built capacitor mics, sourced entirely from British components.

Some cheap monosynths from the '70s and '80s are now highly regarded and hugely expensive second-hand buys. Not so the Jen SX1000 which, says Gordon Reid, is an unjustly neglected nugget of synth history.

Derek Johnson & Debbie Poyser explore a colourful way of applying virtual synth processing to your samples.

Paul White introduces his old, grey Mac to new technology in the form of the LaCie DVD-RAM drive. Just the thing for backing up those long audio files?

Paul White tries out a modelling guitar amp with a wide range of tones and a stereo DI output.

Martin Walker looks at a new stand-alone utility that claims to add the human touch to MIDI data, and finds that it scores highly.

Want to get serious about your music? A quality master controller keyboard is a good place to start. Paul Ward looks at two machines that offer a little more than most.

Roland have moved into the active monitor market with a product which offers digital inputs and a 'Speaker Modelling Function' courtesy of their V-series recorders and mixers. Technology overkill or a studio necessity? Hugh Robjohns finds out...

Sonic Foundry have a reputation for innovative PC audio software, but their range has not included a true multitrack recording package — until now.

Paul White foresakes his towering effects rack for a budget processor that looks for all the world as though it would float in the bath!

This Month sees Martin Walker bemoaning certain schemes of copy protection, as well as investigating various downloads for Yamaha SW1000XG owners.

Martin Russ laments his unerring success at buying new Macs just as they are about to be superseded, but recovers enough to find another little-known but fascinating seam of music software.

Mike Simmons ties up some loose ends with some words on browser compatibility, a look at other Internet music other than Real Audio, and a brief guide to using frames on your site.

Turn your Atari into an instant musical ideas machine with fascinating Music Mouse. Derek Johnson reviews a vintage Atari program that's still available new and checks out a useful ST resource web site.

You press a key on your synth. It plays a note. That's it, right? Wrong. We explain the role of envelopes, gates, and triggers in this deceptively simple process.

Do you want your bass end to sound bigger, fatter, louder and meaner? Paul White explores some of the options.

The flexibility of Yamaha's popular O-series digital mixers means that there are as many ways to use them as there are owners. Paul White passes on some tips from both Yamaha insiders and professional users.

First seen on their Rebirth software synth, Steinberg/Propellerhead's Rewire technology not only provides a means of getting software from multiple manufacturers to work together, it also arguably makes the 'studio-in-a-PC' a workable reality for the first time. Martin Walker unravels its complexities...

The Internet was originally conceived as a resource for sharing information — and there's still quite a lot of it out there among the Star Trek sites and pirated MP3s, if you know where to look.

Martin Walker answers some of the most common queries about setting up and using your soundcard, and achieving the best audio quality.

Attaching several different applications to a single MIDI or Audio device can be very useful — once you've worked out how to do it! Martin Walker guides you through the procedure and points out the varied uses of the multi-client approach.

Initially best known for their radical and stylistically diverse remixes of other people's material, Apollo Four Forty have recently notched up their tenth Top 40 single and have been expanding into music for TV, film and computer games. Sam Molineaux investigates the trio behind this feat of multimedia mastery...

Gwynn T. Robinson enjoys the sound of silence — but wonders why it's so difficult to achieve.

Bassist John Paul Jones hasn't let the grass grow under his feet since Led Zeppelin came to rest at the turn of the '80s. Constantly in demand for his arranging and compositional skills, he's now produced his first solo album, Zooma.

With their first Top 10 chart placing and massive radio play, Travis' recent single marked a commercial breakthrough for the band. Sue Sillitoe talks to producer Mike Hedges.

This month, SOS meets a very unique music-maker.

In the second instalment of this regular column looking at the latest developments in digital technology, Dave Shapton considers the future of the troubled Universal Serial Buss, and the direction in which the MP3 debate is heading.